First, third to sixth inventions relate to a tankless toilet which has no water tank and directly feeds water supplied from a water supply pipe such as a city water service pipe or the like to a western-style toilet body so as to wash the western-style toilet body. A second invention relates to a tankless toilet provided with a toilet seat/toilet lid device and a toilet flushing device. A seventh invention relates to a western-style flush toilet including a tankless toilet. An eighth invention relates to a part washing device. A ninth invention relates to a spud for flush toilet. This spud for flush toilet is suitable as a rim nozzle which guides the water into a rim channel of a flushing western-style toilet body.
Conventionally, there has been known a western-style flush toilet which includes a western-style toilet body made of porcelain and a toilet flushing mechanism having a water tank such as a low tank made of porcelain which is mounted on a rear portion of the western-style toilet body and temporarily reserves water supplied from a water supply pipe such as a city water service pipe. The toilet flushing mechanism is capable of washing the western-style toilet body with the water reserved in the low tank. The water tank is mounted on a side wall of the toilet such that the tank is positioned outside the toilet body and has a large volume to spout a large amount of water into the toilet body at a time for ensuring the discharge of a waste from the western-style toilet body. Accordingly, such a western-style flush toilet generally requires a large space for mounting the water tank.
Accordingly, recently, from the viewpoint of effectively making use of the space of the toilet, a tankless toilet which is capable of directly supplying water fed from the water supply pipe to the western-style toilet body has been developed (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 90723/1991, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 253630/1991). In such a tankless toilet, a rim channel which is capable of flushing a bowl with water is formed in a rim of the western-style toilet body and a rim conduit is capable of supplying water to this rim channel by way of a rim water guide passage which is connected from a backside to the rim channel concealed in a wall face of the western-style toilet body. Further, as valve means, an open/close valve having an inlet port and an outlet port and a vacuum breaker having an atmosphere-communication hole are adopted. The water supply pipe is connected to the inlet port of the open/close valve by way of a conduit, while the rim conduit is connected to the outlet port. The atmosphere-communication hole of the vacuum breaker is communicated with the atmosphere above the uppermost surface of the rim channel. Further, this tankless toilet adopts the western-style toilet body having a support portion behind the rim and a fixed plate is fixedly mounted on the support portion of this western-style toilet body and the toilet flushing device is provided at the rear side of the fixed plate, and a toilet seat/toilet lid device is provided at the front side of a cover of the toilet flushing device such that the toilet seat/toilet lid device can be tilted upwardly and downwardly. The toilet seat/toilet lid device includes a toilet seat and a toilet lid.
In such a tankless toilet, water is fed to the inlet port of the open/close valve from the water supply pipe via the conduit, and then the water is fed to the rim channel of the western-style toilet body from the outlet port via the rim conduit due to the opening of an open/close valve. Accordingly, the water is spouted into the bowl so as to perform the flushing of the bowl. Further, the water jetted from a jet nozzle to a trap portion forcibly generates a siphon effect in the trap portion. Here, at this point of time, since the atmosphere-communication hole of the vacuum breaker has the downstream side of the vacuum breaker opened to the atmosphere, even when the water supply pipe, the conduit and the upstream side from these pipes become negative pressure, water in the rim channel is prevented from flowing backward to the valve means and the upstream side from the valve means.
Here, in the tankless toilet, the water flows in the rim channel at a high speed and hence, the rim conduit which is connected to the open/close valve is adopted to ensure the bowl washing ability. Further, from the viewpoint of enhancing the appearance, the rim conduit is concealed in the wall face. Further, in the tankless toilet, the water is jetted from the jet nozzle at a high speed and to ensure the generation of the effective siphon effect due to such a jetting of the water, a jet conduit which is connected to the open/close valve is adopted. Further, from the viewpoint of enhancing the appearance, the jet conduit is concealed in the wall face. Further, in this tankless toilet, because of the necessity to ensure the highly accurate contour dimensions, a base plate is interposed between the western-style toilet body and the open/close valve. Further, in view of the easiness of assembling, the rim conduit and the jet conduit are arranged such that they can be inserted into the open/close valve via the base plate. In this manner, the tankless toilet ensures the large flushing ability, the favorable appearance including the contour and the easiness of assembling.
Further, conventionally, there has been known a part washing device which includes a part washing mechanism which is mounted on the western-style toilet body and is capable of washing a part of a human body and a water supply device which is directly connected to a city water service pipe which supplies the water from outside and connects the city water service pipe and the part washing mechanism via a strainer.
Here, the strainer filters the foreign matters present in the water supplied from the city water service pipe to prevent the clogging of the part washing mechanism derived from the foreign matters present in the water. Then, in this part washing device, a cap is mounted on a lower end of the water supply device and the strainer disposed in the inside of the water supply device can be taken out by opening the cap. Further, the water supply device is concealed by a resin-made cover from the viewpoint of appearance and the cap of the water supply device is protruded downwardly so as to facilitate the take-out operation of the strainer disposed in the inside of the water supply device.
Further, a known spud for flush toilet is mounted on a through hole formed in a wall portion of the flush toilet body. In this manner, when this spud for flush toilet is mounted, for example, in the wall portion which faces the rim channel, the outlet port is positioned in the rim channel and can be used as a rim nozzle. In this rim nozzle, the water taken in through the inlet port is spouted in the rim channel from the outlet port.
However, the western-style toilet body has a rim around a toilet bowl and the rim channel is formed in the rim. On the other hand, it is preferable that water is supplied through the rim conduit from a rear portion of the rim channel from an aesthetic point of view. With respect to this point, in the above-mentioned conventional tankless toilet, the western-style toilet body conceals the rim water guide passage leading to the rim channel in the wall face of the western-style toilet body and a through hole is formed above this rim water guide passage and the rim conduit is connected to the western-style toilet body by means of the through hole. In this case, water in the rim conduit reaches the rim channel after flowing through the inside of the rim water guide passage so that because of the resistance which water receives while flowing through the inside of the rim water guide passage, the force to spout water into the bowl becomes weak and hence, the washing ability of water may be deteriorated.
Further, water is liable to leak from the atmosphere communication hole of valve means and it is convenient to return such water to the inside of the bowl of the western-style toilet body. With respect to conventional tankless toilet, no consideration is made with respect to this point. Assuming a case that in the conventional tankless toilet, a pipe is connected to the atmosphere communication hole and the pipe is connected to the western-style toilet body, a through hole for such a pipe must be formed separately from the through hole for connecting the rim conduit to the western-style toilet body. In such a case, two through holes must be formed in the western-style toilet body made of porcelain so that the manufacture thereof becomes cumbersome and it pushes up the manufacturing cost.
The first invention has been made in view of the above circumstance and it is a first task to be solved to provide a tankless toilet which can realize the reduction of the manufacturing cost without deteriorating the washing ability of water in the rim channel.
With respect to the tankless toilet of the first invention, to solve such a first task, in a tankless toilet including a western-style toilet body having a rim channel which is formed in the inside of a rim and is capable of washing a bowl with water,
a rim conduit which is capable of supplying water to the rim channel, and
valve means having an inlet port thereof connected to a water supply pipe which supplies water, making an outlet port thereof supply water or stop the supply of water to the rim conduit and having an atmosphere communication hole which is communicated with the atmosphere above the uppermost surface of the rim channel,
the improvement is characterized in that the western-style toilet body includes a rim water guide passage which is concealed in a wall surface of the western-style toilet body and is connected to the rim channel, a through hole which is communicated with the rim water guide passage is formed in the wall face of the western-style toilet body, and in the inside of the through hole, a spud having a water supply passage which makes the rim conduit communicate with the rim channel without passing the inside of the rim water guide passage and a water discharge passage which makes the atmosphere communication hole communicate with the rim water guide passage by way of pipe is engaged.
In the tankless toilet of the first invention, the western-style toilet body has the rim water guide passage which is connected to the rim channel concealed in the wall face of the western-style toilet body and hence, the tankless toilet exhibits the favorable appearance. Further, the through hole which is communicated with the rim water guide passage is formed in the wall face and the spud having the water supply passage and the water discharge passage is engaged in such a through hole.
In this manner, in this tankless toilet, the rim conduit is communicated with the rim channel through the water supply passage of the spud not by way of the inside of the rim water guide passage and hence, the water in the rim conduit reaches the rim channel due to the water supply passage of the spud without flowing through the inside of the rim water guide passage. Accordingly, the power to spout water into the inside of the bowl is maintained and there is no fear that the washing ability is deteriorated.
Further, since the atmosphere communication hole of the valve means is connected with the water discharge passage of the spud through the pipe and is communicated with the rim water guide passage through the water discharge passage, water which leaks from the atmosphere communication hole of the valve means flows into the rim water guide passage through the water discharge passage independent from the water supply passage relevant to the washing of the bowl by way of the pipe and then is returned to the inside of the bowl from the rim channel.
Further, in the tankless toilet of the first invention, by merely forming the through hole for mounting the spud in the western-style toilet body, the rim conduit and the pipe connected to the atmosphere communication hole can be connected to the western-style toilet body and hence, the tankless toilet can be easily manufactured and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
Further, by forming the through hole in a rear wall face of the western-style toilet body, it becomes possible to make an upper surface of the western-style toilet body wide and hence, the tankless toilet exhibits a further favorable appearance due to the effective utilization of the space.
The spud can be constituted of a body portion which is engaged with the through hole, a first engaging portion formed on the body portion and is engaged with the rim conduit, a second engaging portion which is formed on the body portion and makes the pipe connected to the atmosphere communication hole engaged therewith, and a guide portion formed on the body portion and is extended into the inside of the rim channel. Here, the water supply passage which is communicated with the rim conduit is constituted of at least the first engaging portion and the guide portion. Further, the water discharge passage which is communicated with the pipe is constituted of at least the second engaging portion.
Here, when the guide portion includes water spout openings which make the water supply passage opened in one direction and the other direction of the rim channel, it becomes possible to spout the water into the rim channel from both directions and hence, even when the water spouting pressure is low, the bowl washing ability can be enhanced.
Further, in the conventional tankless toilet, a fixed plate is fixedly secured to a support portion and a toilet seat/toilet lid device is mounted on a cover for a toilet flushing device which is fixedly secured to the fixed plate. Accordingly, there arises a problem that the cleaning of the western-style toilet body is difficult. Particularly, with respect to this tankless toilet, it is necessary to firmly fix the fixed plate at front and rear portions of the western-style toilet body to prevent the mounting of the toilet seat/toilet lid device with a play and hence, the cleaning of the western-style toilet body becomes more difficult.
That is, in toilets including such a tankless toilet, urine or the like adheres to peripheries of the western-style toilet body and they give rise to stains. Particularly, when a child uses the toilet, such stains are liable to be generated. In such a tankless toilet, stains are generated in a minute gap formed between the western-style toilet body and the toilet seat/toilet lid device or the toilet flushing device. In performing the cleaning of the western-style toilet body, a cleaning person, first of all, removes the toilet seat/toilet lid device from the cover of the toilet flushing device, then removes the cover of the toilet flushing device, and further, removes the toilet flushing device from the western-style toilet body together with the fixed plate or removes the fixed plate from the western-style toilet body after removing the toilet flushing device from the fixed plate. In this manner, this tankless toilet requires many steps for cleaning the western-style toilet body and hence, it may be reasonable to say that the cleaning performance of the western-style toilet body is low. Particularly, in this tankless toilet, since the fixed plate is firmly fixed at the front and rear portions of the western-style toilet body at the time of removing the fixed plate, this tendency is large.
The second invention has been made in view of the above circumstance and it is a second task to be solved to provide a tankless toilet which can enhance the cleaning performance of the western-style toilet body.
According to the second invention, to solve the above-mentioned second task, in a tankless toilet including a western-style toilet body having a support portion in the rearward direction as viewed from a rim, a toilet seat/toilet lid device which is mounted on the support portion and has a toilet seat and a toilet lid, and a toilet flushing device which is mounted on the support portion and performs the washing of the western-style toilet body with water supplied from a water supply pipe,
a fixed plate which has a toilet seat/toilet lid device mounting portion at a front side thereof and a toilet flushing device mounting portion at a rear side thereof is fixedly secured to the support portion, the toilet seat/toilet lid device is fixedly secured to the toilet seat/toilet lid device mounting portion, and toilet flushing device is fixedly mounted on the toilet flushing device mounting portion.
In this tankless toilet, the fixed plate is fixedly secured to the support portion of the western-style toilet body. The fixed plate has the toilet seat/toilet lid device mounting portion for mounting the toilet seat/toilet lid device at the front side thereof and the toilet flushing device mounting portion for mounting the toilet flushing device at the rear side thereof. Accordingly, when stains are generated in a minute gap formed between the western-style toilet body and the toilet seat/toilet lid device or the toilet flushing device and the cleaning of the western-style toilet body is to be performed, a cleaning person can remove the toilet seat/toilet lid device and the toilet flushing device from the western-style toilet body by removing the fixed plate from the support portion of the western-style toilet body.
Further, since the fixed plate is used as a common plate for mounting the toilet seat/toilet lid device and the toilet flushing device together on the western-style toilet body and hence, the mounting performance can be enhanced and the number of parts can be reduced.
With respect to the fixed plate, the toilet seat/toilet lid device mounting portion is tiltable in the upward and downward direction against the toilet flushing device mounting portion. It is preferable that toilet seat/toilet lid mounting holes for fixedly securing mounting bolts of the toilet seat/toilet lid device are formed in the toilet seat/toilet lid device mounting portion, and insertion holes for allowing the insertion of these mounting bolts thereinto and fixed plate mounting holes for fixedly securing the rear side of the fixed plate to the support portion of the fixed plate are formed in the support portion of the western-style toilet body. With such a constitution, only the toilet seat/toilet lid device can be tilted upwardly or downwardly relative to the western-style toilet body while holding the toilet seat/toilet lid device to the fixed plate and hence, the cleaning performance of the support portion of the western-style toilet body concealed at the front side of the fixed plate can be enhanced. Further, only the rear side of the fixed plate is fixedly secured to the western-style toilet body by the fixed plate mounting holes formed in the support portion and hence, the fixed plate can be easily removed together with the toilet seat/toilet lid device so that the advantageous effect of the present invention is enhanced.
Further, when the toilet flushing device is provided with valve means and a vacuum breaker, the fixed plate may have a guide passage which guides backflow water spouted from an intake opening of the vacuum breaker to the western-style toilet body. Here, the valve means is capable of supplying water into the western-style toilet body and stopping such a supply of water. Further, the vacuum breaker has the intake opening communicated with the atmosphere and prevents the backflow of water at the valve means. Due to such a constitution, the backflow water spouted from the intake opening of the vacuum breaker can be guided to the western-style toilet body through the guide passage formed in the fixed plate and hence, the contamination derived from the backflow water can be prevented without necessitating any special pipe.
Further, the above-mentioned conventional tankless toilet is only of a type which adopts a unitary-type toilet flushing device in which the toilet flushing device is mounted on the western-style toilet body unitarily with the toilet seat/toilet lid device and there has been no case that the conventional tankless toilet is of a type which adopts a separate type toilet flushing device in which the toilet flushing device is mounted on the western-style toilet body separately from the toilet seat/toilet lid device. Accordingly, at the time of purchasing, a purchaser of the tankless toilet who are considering the installment of the tankless toilet in a toilet room can only select the tankless toilet which is provided with the unitary-type toilet flushing device in which the toilet flushing device is mounted on the western-style toilet body unitarily with the toilet seat/toilet lid device. Accordingly, the free selection of the tankless toilet having the separate-type toilet flushing device which may become necessary due to a budget or the like is impossible.
Further, even if either the tankless toilet having the separate-type toilet flushing device or the tankless toilet having the unitary-type toilet flushing device is manufactured, so long as they do not use the common western-style toilet body, it is necessary to manufacture two kinds of western-style toilet body and hence, the efficiency of mass production is low and this pushes up the manufacturing cost of the western-style toilet body or the manufacturing cost of the tankless toilet.
The third invention has been made in view of the above circumstance and it is a third task to be solved by the invention to allow the purchaser to freely select the tankless toilet and to realize the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the tankless toilet.
With respect to a tankless toilet of the third invention, to solve the above-mentioned third task, in a tankless toilet including a western-style toilet body, a toilet seat/toilet lid device mounted on the western-style toilet body and a toilet flushing device which is mounted on the western-style toilet body, has no water tank and has a flushing mechanism capable of washing the western-style toilet body with water,
the improvement is characterized in that the toilet flushing device is either a separate-type toilet flushing device which is mounted on the western-style toilet body separately from the toilet seat/toilet lid device or a unitary-type toilet flushing device which is mounted on the western-style toilet body integrally with the toilet seat/toilet lid device, and the western-style toilet body on which the separate-type toilet flushing device is mounted and the western-style toilet body on which the unitary-type toilet flushing device is mounted are used in common.
The tankless toilet of the third invention adopts either the separate-type toilet flushing device or the unitary-type toilet flushing device. Accordingly, a purchaser of a tankless toilet who is considering the installment of the tankless toilet in a toilet room can freely select the tankless toilet adopting the separate-type toilet flushing device or the tankless toilet adopting the unitary-type toilet flushing device depending on a budget or the like at the time of purchasing.
Further, with respect to the tankless toilet of the third invention, since the western-style toilet body is commonly used, it is sufficient to manufacture only one kind of western-style toilet body and hence, the highly-efficient mass production becomes possible whereby the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the western-style toilet body and eventually the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the tankless toilet can be realized.
It is preferable that the separate-type toilet flushing device and the unitary-type toilet flushing device use the common flushing mechanism. In this case, when the tankless toilet adopting the separate-type toilet flushing device as its toilet flushing device and the tankless toilet adopting the unitary-type toilet flushing device as its toilet flushing device are manufactured in a factory, their parts can be used in common so that the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the tankless toilet can be further enhanced.
Further, it is preferable that the separate-type toilet flushing device and the unitary-type toilet flushing device use the common base plate which is used for mounting the flushing mechanism to the western-style toilet body. In this case also, when the tankless toilet adopting the separate-type toilet flushing device as its toilet flushing device and the tankless toilet adopting the unitary-type toilet flushing device as its toilet flushing device are manufactured in a factory, their parts can be used in common so that the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the tankless toilet can be further enhanced. Further, at the time of mounting the separate-type toilet flushing device or the unitary-type toilet flushing device on the western-style toilet body, they can use the common manufacturing line until the flushing mechanism is mounted on the western-style toilet body by way of the base plate so that the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the tankless toilet can be further enhanced.
Further, it is preferable that the flushing mechanism is mounted on the western-style toilet body without interfering with other mechanism excluding the flushing mechanism in the unitary-type toilet flushing device. At the time of mounting the separate-type toilet flushing device or the unitary-type toilet flushing device on the western-style toilet body, provided that the flushing mechanism can be mounted on the western-style toilet body without interfering with other mechanism excluding the flushing mechanism in the unitary-type toilet flushing device, by mounting only the flushing mechanims to the western-style toilet body, the tankless toilet provided with only the flushing mechanism can be manufactured. On such a tankless toilet, a simple toilet seat/toilet lid device which only includes a toilet seat and a toilet lid can be mounted or alternatively, a toilet seat/toilet lid device which is provided with other mechanisms such as a part washing device which is capable of washing a part of a human body can be mounted. In this manner, the tankless toilet provided with the separate-type toilet flushing device can be manufactured. Further, by mounting other mechanisms except for the flushing mechanism after mounting the flushing mechanism, the tankless toilet provided with the unitary-type toilet flushing device can be manufactured. Accordingly, they can use the common manufacturing line until the flushing mechanism is mounted on the western-style toilet body so that the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the tankless toilet can be further enhanced. As other mechanism, a hot water tank of the part washing device or the like can be named.
The unitary-type toilet flushing device may include an inner cover which conceals the flushing mechanism and an outer cover which conceals the inner cover together with other mechanisms. Due to such a constitution, by concealing the flushing mechanism with the inner cover after mounting the flushing mechanism on the western-style toilet body, the tankless toilet provided with the separate-type toilet flushing device can be manufactured. Further, after mounting other mechanisms excluding the flushing mechanism, such other mechanisms can be concealed by the outer cover and hence, the tankless toilet provided with the unitary-type toilet flushing device can be manufactured. Accordingly, they can use the common manufacturing line until the flushing mechanism and the inner cover are mounted on the western-style toilet body so that the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the tankless toilet can be further enhanced.
When the western-style toilet body has toilet seat mounting holes which enable the mounting of the toilet seat/toilet lid device, the separate-type toilet flushing device can be mounted on the western-style toilet body at the rear side of the toilet seat/toilet lid device which is mounted with the toilet seat mounting holes. On the other hand, in this case, the unitary-type toilet flushing device is mounted on the western-style toilet body by means of at least toilet seat mounting holes.
It is preferable that the toilet seat mounting holes are designed such that a general toilet seat/toilet lid device can be mounted. The distance between these toilet seat mounting holes is prescribed by the JIS Standard in Japan, for example, such that the distance becomes 140 mm. Besides the above, the distance between the toilet seat mounting holes may be determined based on the standards of other countries such as United States of America or other nations.
Further, in the above-mentioned conventional tankless toilet, the rim conduit has one end thereof opened in the rim channel of the western-style toilet body, has the middle portion thereof exposed from the wall surface of the western-style toilet body, and has the other end fixedly secured to the base plate. Further, the other end of the rim conduit can be inserted into an open/close valve fixedly secured to the base plate. Similarly, in this tankless toilet, the jet conduit has one end thereof fixedly secured to the jet nozzle which is fixedly secured to the western-style toilet body and the other end fixedly secured to the base plate. Further, the other end of the jet conduit can be inserted into an open/close valve which is fixedly secured to the base plate.
Accordingly, in such a tankless toilet, since the rim conduit and the jet conduit are fixedly secured to the western-style toilet body by way of the base plate, at the time of assembling, it is impossible to mount the rim conduit and the jet conduit on the western-style toilet body in a stable manner until the base plate is fixedly secured to the western-style toilet body. Accordingly, such a tankless toilet has a drawback that the toilet cannot sufficiently exhibit the easiness of assembling.
The fourth and fifth inventions have been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstance and their fourth and fifth tasks lie in the realization of the large washing ability, the appearance including the contour, and the assurance of the reliable easiness of assembling.
In the tankless toilet of the fourth invention, to solve the above-mentioned fourth task, in a tankless toilet including a western-style toilet body having a rim channel which is formed in the inside of a rim and is capable of washing a bowl with water,
an open/close valve which is fixedly secured to the western-style toilet body by way of a base plate and is connected to a water supply pipe capable of supplying water, and
a rim conduit which is concealed in a wall face of the western-style toilet body and is connected to the open/close valve and is capable of supplying the water to the rim channel,
the improvement is characterized in that the rim conduit is fixedly secured to the wall face and the rim conduit and the open/close valve can be inserted into each other.
In the tankless toilet of the fourth invention, the rim conduit is fixedly secured to the wall face of the western-style toilet body and the rim conduit can be inserted into the open/close valve which is fixedly secured to the base plate. Due to such a constitution, at the time of assembling, it becomes possible to mount the rim conduit to the western-style toilet body in a stable manner even before fixing the base plate to the western-style toilet body and hence, the tankless toilet can sufficiently exhibit the easiness of assembling. Further, since the tankless toilet of the fourth invention adopts the rim conduit which is connected to the open/close valve, the water flows in the inside of the rim channel at a high speed thus ensuring the ability to wash the bowl. Further, since the rim conduit is concealed in the wall face, the appearance of the tankless toilet is enhanced. Further, since the base plate is interposed between the western-style toilet body and the open/close valve, the highly accurate contour dimensions can be ensured.
In the tankless toilet of the fifth invention, to solve the above-mentioned fifth task, in a tankless toilet including a western-style toilet body having a jet nozzle which is disposed in a trap portion and jets water to the trap portion so as to forcibly generate a siphon effect,
an open/close valve which is fixedly secured to the western-style toilet body by way of a base plate and is connected to a water supply pipe capable of supplying the water, and a jet conduit which is concealed in a wall face of the western-style toilet body and is connected to the open/close valve and is capable of supplying the water to the jet nozzle,
the improvement thereof is characterized in that the jet conduit is fixedly secured to the wall face and the jet conduit and the open/close valve can be inserted into each other.
In the tankless toilet of the fifth invention, jet conduit is fixedly secured to the wall face of the western-style toilet body and the jet conduit can be inserted into the open/close valve which is fixedly secured to the base plate. Accordingly, at the time of assembling, the jet conduit can be mounted on the western-style toilet body in a stable manner even before the base plate is fixedly secured to the western-style toilet body and hence, the tankless toilet can sufficiently exhibit the easiness of assembling.
Further, the tankless toilet of the fifth invention adopts the jet conduit connected to the open/close valve and hence, the water is jetted from the jet nozzle at a high speed thus ensuring the generation of the effective siphon effect. Further, since the jet conduit is concealed in the wall face, the appearance of the tankless toilet is enhanced. Further, since the base plate is interposed between the western-style toilet body and the open/close valve, the highly accurate contour dimensions can be ensured.
Further, in the above-mentioned conventional tankless toilet, only the toilet flushing device is mounted on the western-style toilet body and a toilet seat/toilet lid device including a part washing mechanism which is capable of washing a part of a human body is not mounted on the western-style toilet body. Accordingly, this tankless toilet cannot meet a demand of a user that the user wants to wash the part after passing stools.
Assuming a case in which a part washing mechanism is mounted on such a tankless toilet, when the part washing mechanism is simultaneously fixedly secured to a base plate which fixedly secures a toilet flushing mechanism to the western-style toilet body, the base plate becomes large-sized so that the tankless toilet also becomes large-sized whereby it is difficult to ensure the installation space. The same goes for a case in which other base plate to which a part washing mechanism is fixedly secured is fixedly secured to the western-style toilet body and a space for the part washing mechanism is to be ensured separately in the western-style toilet body.
The sixth invention has been made in view of the above circumstance and a sixth task to be solved is to provide a tankless toilet which facilitates the assurance of the installation space by miniaturization and can meet the demand of the user that the user wants to wash the part after passing stools.
In the tankless toilet of the sixth invention, to solve the above-mentioned sixth task, in a tankless toilet including a western-style toilet body and a toilet flushing device which is mounted on the western-style toilet body, has no water tank and has a flushing mechanism capable of washing the western-style toilet body with water,
the improvement thereof is characterized in that in mounting a toilet seat/toilet lid device having a part washing mechanism capable of washing a part of human body on the western-style toilet body, as the toilet seat/toilet lid device, a toilet seat/toilet lid device having a toilet seat base plate on which the part washing mechanism is fixedly secured is adopted, as the toilet flushing device, a toilet flushing device having a toilet flushing base plate on which the toilet flushing mechanism is fixedly secured is adopted, the toilet seat base plate is mounted on the western-style toilet body using toilet seat mounting holes formed on the western-style toilet body, and the toilet flushing base plate is sandwiched between the toilet seat base plate and the western-style toilet body while obviating the interference between the part washing mechanism and the toilet flushing mechanism.
In the tankless toilet of the sixth invention, the toilet seat base plate of the toilet seat/toilet lid device is mounted on the western-style toilet body using the toilet seat mounting holes formed in the western-style toilet body and the toilet flushing base plate of the toilet flushing device is sandwiched between the toilet seat base plate and the western-style toilet body. Here, the interference between the part washing mechanism of the toilet seat/toilet lid device and the toilet flushing mechanism of the toilet flushing device is obviated. Accordingly, in this tankless toilet, the part washing mechanism of the toilet seat/toilet lid device is mounted on the western-style toilet body so that the demand of the user that the user wants to wash the part after passing stools or the like can be satisfied. Further, in this tankless toilet, when the part washing mechanism is mounted on the tankless toilet in such a manner, since the toilet seat base plate and the toilet flushing base plate are partially overlapped and hence, the tankless toilet can be miniaturized.
It is preferable that the toilet seat mounting holes are capable of mounting a toilet seat/toilet lid device for general use. Due to such a constitution, even when a purchaser of a tankless toilet who is considering the installation of the tankless toilet in a toilet room originally mounts a toilet seat/toilet lid device for general use due to a budget reason or the like at the time of purchasing the tankless toilet, the user can replace such a toilet seat/toilet lid device with a toilet seat/close lid device having a part washing mechanism without exchanging the western-style toilet body and other equipment. This mode can be carried out in a reverse manner. In this manner, the free selection of the purchaser can be ensured. Further, due to such a constitution, the western-style toilet body can be used in common so that the reduction of the manufacturing cost can be realized due to the highly efficient mass production. The distance between these toilet seat mounting holes is prescribed by the JIS Standard in Japan, for example, such that the distance becomes 140 mm. Besides the above, the distance between the toilet seat mounting holes may be determined based on the standards of other countries such as United States of America or other nations.
The toilet seat base plate may have a guide passage which guides water leaked from the toilet flushing mechanism to the inside of the western-style toilet body.
Further, when the toilet seat/toilet lid device has a cover which conceals a part washing mechanism, it may be constructed such that the toilet flushing mechanism of the toilet flushing device can be concealed by this cover.
Further, in the above-mentioned conventional general western-style flush toilet, a low tank which occupies a major portion of a toilet flushing mechanism is exposed. Accordingly, it is necessary to manufacture the low tank made of porcelain such that the low tank exhibits an excellent appearance and hence, the manufacture of the low tank becomes cumbersome whereby there is a limitation with respect to the reduction of the manufacturing cost.
In view of the above, it may be possible to simply conceal the toilet flushing mechanism such as the low tank with a cover made of resin. Due to such a constitution, even though the manufacturing cost may be pushed up by an amount of the cover, it is no more necessary to consider the appearance of the toilet flushing mechanism inside the cover so that the manufacturing of the toilet flushing mechanism is facilitated whereby the reduction of the manufacturing cost can be realized.
However, in the constitution which simply conceals the toilet flushing mechanism with the resin-made cover, when the cover is to be opened for inspection of the toilet flushing mechanism or the like, provided that the cover is divided into left and right halves, a division line spoils the appearance.
The seventh invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstance and it is a seventh task to be solved to provide a western-style flush toilet which can realize the reduction of the manufacturing cost and also can ensure the favorable appearance.
With respect to the western-style flush toilet of the seventh invention, to solve the above-mentioned seventh task, in a western-style flush toilet including a western-style toilet body, and a toilet flushing mechanism which is mounted on a rear portion of the western-style toilet body and is capable of washing the western-style toilet body with water,
the improvement is characterized in that the toilet flushing mechanism is concealed by a resin-made upper cover and a resin-made under cover which can be divided into upper and lower halves.
In the western-style flush toilet of the seventh invention, although the toilet flushing mechanism is concealed by the resin-made upper cover and the under cover and hence, the manufacturing cost is pushed up by an amount corresponding to the upper cover and the under cover, since it is no more necessary to consider the appearance of the toilet flushing mechanism in the inside of the upper cover and the under cover, the manufacturing of the toilet flushing mechanism is facilitated so that the reduction of the manufacturing cost can be realized.
Further, in this western-style flush toilet, by dividing the upper cover and the under cover into upper and lower halves, the inspection of the toilet flushing mechanism and the like can be performed. In this case, since the division line between the upper cover and the under cover becomes a horizontal or approximately horizontal line, the division line hardly spoils the appearance of the western-style flush toilet.
When the part washing mechanism capable of washing the part of the human body is provided to a rear portion of the western-style toilet body, it is preferable that the part washing mechanism is also concealed by the upper cover and the under cover. Due to such a constitution, it is no more necessary to consider the appearance of the part washing mechanism and hence, the manufacture of the part washing mechanism is facilitated whereby the reduction of the manufacturing cost can be realized. Further, by dividing the upper cover and the under cover in the vertical direction, the inspection of the part washing mechanism or the like can be carried out.
It is preferable that the division line between the upper cover and the under cover is aligned with an upper surface of a rim of the western-style toilet body. Due to such a provision, the division line extending in the horizontal or approximately horizontal line exhibits the favorable appearance.
When a toilet flushing mechanism which is directly connected to a city water service pipe which supplies the water from outside and is capable of spouting water by the open/close operation of a valve is adopted as the toilet flushing mechanism, the advantageous effect of the present invention is enhanced. Since such a toilet flushing mechanism is not provided with a conventional low tank, the toilet flushing mechanism can be miniaturized. Accordingly, it becomes easy to conceal the toilet flushing mechanism with the upper cover and the under cover and the upper cover and the under covers can be also miniaturized so that the further reduction of the manufacturing cost can be realized.
When a toilet flushing mechanism which is connected to the other end of a flexible hose which has one end thereof connected to the city water service pipe is adopted as the toilet flushing mechanism, it is preferable that the other end of the flexibile hose is disposed at a position above an approximately center in the widthwise direction of the under cover. Due to such a constitution, even when the city water service pipe is arranged at either left or right side of the western-style flush toilet, the city water service pipe and the toilet flushing mechanism can be easily directly connected. Further, this advantageous effect eliminates the necessity to separate the western-style flush toilet in view of the left-side water supply and the right-side water supply. Accordingly, the number of types at the time of manufacturing and selling can be decreased so that the reduction of the manufacturing cost and the administration cost can be realized. Further, due to such a provision, the freedom of designing of a house is increased so that the selection of designing by a builder becomes easy. Further, since the flexible hose has a certain degree of flexibility, the installation of the toilet is facilitated.
It is preferable that the under cover has a guide which allows the flexible movement of the flexible hose. Since the flexible hose is flexible with a certain degree of curvature, when the under cover is provided with such a guide, an unnecessary gap is hardly generated or is not generated between the under cover and the flexible hose and hence, the appearance of the toilet is enhanced.
Further, there may be a case in which a part washing device once places a cover which incorporates a water supply device therein on a floor surface at the time of mounting the part washing device on the western-style toilet body. In this case, according to the above-mentioned conventional part washing device, since a cap of the water supply device is protruded downwardly from a lower surface of the cover, the cap interferes with the floor surface and there exists the possibility that the water supply device may be damaged.
The eighth invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstance and it is an eighth task to be solved to provide a part washing device which does not generate the rupture of a water supply device at the time of mounting the part washing device on a western-style toilet body.
With respect to the part washing device of the eighth invention, to solve the above-mentioned eighth task, in a part washing device including a part washing mechanism which is mounted on a western-style toilet body and is capable of washing a part of a human body, and a water supply device which is directly connected to a city water service pipe which supplies water from outside and connects the city water service pipe and the part washing mechanism by way of a strainer, wherein a cap which allows the take-out of the strainer is provided to a lower end of the water supply device, and the water supply device is concealed by a cover in a state that the cap is protruded downwardly,
the improvement is characterized in that a rib which is protruded downwardly while exceeding the protruding length of the cap is formed on a lower surface of the cover.
In the part washing device of the eighth invention, since the rib is formed on the lower surface of the cover which incorporates the water supply device therein and the rib is protruded downwardly while exceeding the protruding length of the cap, even when the cover is once placed on a floor surface at the time of mounting the part washing device on a western-style toilet body, the cap is prevented from interfering with the floor surface.
Further, most of conventional spuds for flush toilets exhibit poor mounting performance to a through hole formed in a wall portion. On the other hand, spuds for flush toilets which enhance the mounting performance exhibit problems with respect to their sealing performance between the spud and the through hole formed in the wall portion and hence, there is a possibility that water taken in through an inlet port leaks in the vicinity of the through hole.
The ninth invention has been made in view of the above circumstance and it is a ninth task to be solved to provide a spud for flush toilet which can satisfy both of the mounting performance and the sealing performance.
With respect to the spud for flush toilet of the ninth invention, to solve the above-mentioned ninth task, in a spud for flush toilet which is mounted in a through hole formed in a wall portion of a flush toilet body and spouts water taken therein through an inlet port from an outlet port,
the improvement is characterized in that the spud for flush toilet includes
a cylindrical member being made of resin having resiliency and being formed in a cylindrical shape, the cylindrical member having one end formed into an outlet port or the inlet port, and the cylindrical member being inserted into the through hole,
a female thread member provided with first flanges which are protruded radially outwardly in at last two directions on an outer surface thereof, the female thread member having a female thread formed on an inner surface thereof, the female thread member being formed in the small-diameter state and inserted into the inside of the cylindrical member in the inside of the through hole from one end or the other end thereof, and the female thread member being formed in the large-diameter state and bringing the first flange come into contact with one surface of the wall portion by way of the cylindrical member, and
a male thread member having a male thread which is engaged with the female thread and forms the female thread member in the large-diameter state formed in an outer surface of a front end side thereof, the male thread member forming a second flange which faces the first flange in an opposed manner and is brought into contact with the other surface of the wall portion by way of the cylindrical member on an outer surface of a rear end side thereof, and the male thread member forming a water passage which is extended in the axial direction and forms the inlet port or the outlet port at a rear end thereof in the inside thereof.
In mounting the spud for flush toilet of the ninth invention in the through hole formed in the wall portion, first of all, the cylindrical member is fitted into the through hole. Here, since the cylindrical member is formed of the resin having resiliency, this operation can be easily performed.
Then, the first flange of the female thread member is pushed into the cylindrical member to form the female thread member in the small-diameter state, and then the female thread member is inserted into the inside of the cylindrical member in the through hole from one end or the other end thereof.
Thereafter, the front end of the male thread member is inserted into the inside of the female thread member and the male thread of the male thread member is engaged with the female thread of the female thread member. When the thread engagement between the female thread of the female thread member and the male thread of the male thread member progresses, the female thread member is held in the large-diameter state. Further, the first flange of the female thread member is brought into contact with one surface of the wall portion by way of the cylindrical member and the second flange of the male thread member is brought into contact with the other surface of the wall portion by way of the cylindrical member while facing the first flange in an opposed manner. In this manner, the spud for flush toilet can be easily and firmly mounted in the through hole formed in the wall portion.
In this spud for flush toilet, the inlet port or the outlet port formed at the rear end of the male thread member and the outlet port or the inlet port formed at one end of the cylindrical member are communicated with each other by the water passage formed in the male thread member. Accordingly, in the spud for flush toilet, the water taken therein from the inlet port is spouted from the outlet port.
Here, since the cylindrical member is formed in a cylindrical shape in the through hole formed in the wall portion, the sealing performance between the through hole and the cylindrical member is ensured. Further, since the first flange and the second flange are brought into contact with one surface and the other surface of the wall portion in the state that the first flange and the second flange sandwich the cylindrical member made of resin having resiliency, the sealing performance between the through hole and the male thread member is also ensured. Accordingly, the water taken in through the inlet port does not leak in the vicinity of the through hole and can be spouted from the outlet port.
Since the first flange of the female thread member is radially outwardly protruded, there may be a case that the cylindrical member makes the first flange thereof exposed outside. However, in the spud for flush toilet of the present invention, it is preferable that the cylindrical member surrounds the first flange of the female thread member. Due to such a constitution, a gap between the cylindrical member and the female thread member is completely sealed and hence, the sealing performance is further enhanced.
In the spud for flush toilet of the ninth invention, it is preferable that a third flange which is aligned with the second flange of the male thread member is formed on the other end of the cylindrical member. Due to such a constitution, the second flange of the male thread member is brought into contact with the other surface of the wall portion by way of the third flange of the cylindrical member. Accordingly, the water which leaks through the gap formed between the female thread of the female thread member and the male thread of the male thread member hardly enters the gap formed between the second flange of the male thread member and the third flange of the cylindrical member so that the sealing performance can be further enhanced.
Further, in the spud for flush toilet of the ninth invention, it is preferable that a packing is mounted on a wall portion side of the third flange. Due to such a constitution, the second flange of the male thread member is brought into contact with the other surface of the wall portion by way of the third flange of the cylindrical member and the packing. Accordingly, even when a cylindrical member having a thin wall thickness is used as the cylindrical member for enhancing the mounting performance, due to the resiliency of the packing, the water which leaks from the gap formed between the female thread of the female thread member and the male thread of the male thread member hardly passes through the gap formed between the second flange of the male thread member and the third flange of the cylindrical member so that the sealing performance can be enhanced. Further, due to such a constitution, since the spud for flush toilet can be firmly mounted in the through hole formed in the wall portion by making use of the resiliency of the packing, the spud for flush toilet hardly vibrates relative to the flush toilet body and hence, the sealing performance relative to other members which are connected to the inlet port is enhanced.
In the spud for flush toilet of the ninth invention, it is preferable that a fourth flange which is brought into contact with the inner surface of the through hole is formed on the cylindrical member. Due to such a constitution, the cylindrical member is firmly held in the through hole and the spud for flush toilet hardly vibrates relative to the flush toilet body and the sealing performance relative to other members which are connected to the inlet port is enhanced.
One end of the cylindrical member may be formed into an outlet port protruded into the inside of the rim channel of the flush toilet body and the rear end of the male thread member may be formed into the inlet port. Due to such a constitution, the spud for flush toilet works as a rim nozzle which guides the water into the rim channel of the flush toilet body.